Dress shield



A. M. LAE'SSEN DRESS SHIELD Filed Sept. 19, 1925 N 4 I8 I 20 ATTORNEY STATES QFFEQE.

ALMA MARIE LASSEN, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

DRESS SHIELD.

Application filed September 19, 1923. ,Serial No. 663,525.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALMA MARIE LAssnN, a citizen of the United States, residing at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Dress Shields, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a dress shield and protector and, more particularly, to an article of apparel by which dresses or skirts of light material may be kept free from the undergarments and from adhering to and otherwise exposing the form of the wearer.

Light summer dresses have the disadvantage, owing to their lightness and lack of stiffness, of tending to cling to the wearer, particularly when the wearer rises from. a sitting to a standing position. This d1sadvantage may be overcome to some extent by wearing beneath the skirt or dress a petti terial may be enabled to keep outer gar ments from clinging to the wearer without materially increasing the weight or heaviness of the material or interfering with the fit or hang of the dress.

Further objects and features of the invention are to provide a dress shield that will not add materially to the bulk of the upper portion of the undergarments, that will provide a shadow screen in the lower portion of the dress, that will remain in position when worn, and that may be rendered moisture proof without interfering with the other features of the garment.

With these and other objects in view, the invention comprises the garment described and set forth in the following specification and claims.

The various features of the invention are illustrated in the accompanying draw-.

ings, in which,

Fig. l is a, View of the garment showing the manner in which it is worn by the wearer, and,

Fig. 2 is a front view of the garment, portions being shown broken away to show the interior construction.

The present application is a continuation in part of my co pending U. S. application Serial No. 653,093, filed July 23, 1923.

In my present invention, a shield of apron form and of suflicient opacity to prevent the penetration of light raysis suspended dorsally from the waist of the wearer under neath the skirt. This shield has sufficient flexibility to conform sufficiently to the skirt to permit the skirt to hang normally on thewearer and is stiffened in a part of its area, corresponding to the seat portion, by suitable light, stiffening material, such as whale-bone, or other stiff material so arranged at said seat ortion as to resist the bending on substantial y vertical lines of said seat portion, the shield preferably extending a distance on either side of the stiffened seat portion. This stiffening means may be arranged in any suitable configuration and mounted or attached in or to the fabric in any suitablemanner and serves to keep this portion of the undergarment separate and ree from the form of the wearer and to present a smooth surface to the outer skirt without adding any material extra weight. The upper portion of the garment, lyin on the hips of the wearer, is preferably ma e of reticulated material, such as netting or similar fabric, which affords sufficient strength Without adding bulk and thus interfering with'the fit of the skirt. tion of the shield extending past the sides of the stiffened seat portion in a spread out, unfolded position, a pair of short stiffening members are mounted, one at either side of the shield and extend inwardly to a point approximately below the outer edges of the stiffened portion.

Referring more particularly to the accompanying drawings, the shield or protector comprises a sheet of fabric 10 in the form of an apron and of-a. length sufficient to protect the skirt to the desired length. This fabric may be of any suitable material that will keep the light rays from penetrating through the fabric and outlining the form of the wearer, particularly in the lower portion of the shield. This fabric To'hold the pormay be of any desired color but the color is preferably such as to match that of the skirt or dress worn over it. The protector is suspended or hung from the wearer by means of strings l2 and 14 at its upper corners or by any other suitable means.

In the upper portion of the garment, which fits against the hips of the wearer, and iniwhich portion a shadow screen is unnecessary, the fabric is preferably of reticulated material, such as netting 16 which occupies less bulk and is adapted to fit or conform to the shape of the wearer and thus not interfere with the normal fit of the outer dress, while beingof sufiicient strength to hold the lower portionof the shield in proper position. The lower edge of the reticulated material to which the fabric 10 is attached may be slightly curved or rounded downwardly to cause the shield to.

form about the hips of the wearer. To further strengthen thisportion of the garment, vertical strips of tape 18 and 20 may be attached to the netting 16 to extend from the lower fabric 10 to an upper henn 2-2.

Both portions 10 and 16 are edges with a hem or edging 24 of tape, lace or other suitable material.

In the central upper portion of the lower fabric 10 are mounted a number of strips 28, 30 and 32 of stiff, resilient material, such as wha-lebone, three strips being shown by way of example. These strips are preferably arranged substantially parallel and horizontal as, in this position, they ofier less interference with the movements of the wearer and are more effective in holding the outer dress free and separate from the undergarments. Other suitable configurations of the stiffening members might be employed, if desired, however.

The pieces or strips of whalebone are mounted on the fabric by means of strips of tape or fabric 34: placed over the pieces of whalebone and stitched along either edge. These strips are preferably extended across the width of the shield for convenience in manufacture and the whalebone later in! serted and moved to their proper positions. With the parallel, horizontal arrangement of the whalebone, it is preferable to have the lower pieces of progressively increasing lingths to correspond with the shape of the s irt.

The stiffening means does not extend to the side edges of the garment or past the seat portion to any extent as to do so would make the garment project out flatly and thus interfere with the fit and hang of the outer dress, and would not permit the outer edges or border ortion of the garment to conform sufficient yto the shape of the dress. It is desirable, however, that the garment be wider than the area required to be stiffened in order to provide the proper side aaraoie support to maintain it in proper position. To prevent this outer side portion of the shield from sagging, wrinkling in or folding, a pair of short pieces of whalebone 36 and 38 are mounted horizontally on the shield 10, one on each side and extending from a pointapproximately below the outer end of the lowermost strip 32 to the edge of the shield. These strips 36 and 38 are preferably positioned below the strip 32 a distance approximately equal to the spaces between the strips 28, 30, and 32. These strips 36 and 38 accordingly hold the outer side portions of the shield in place without extending the stiffening at the seat portion or otherwise interfering with the flexibility of the shield.

The fabric is thus sufiiciently stifi'ened in the proper interior space to render the outer dress free of the undergarments or wearer without addin any material weight to the garments. ThlS preventsthe outer garments from clinging to the wearer, from wrinkling and revents the transparency of the dresses. t is to be understood that other stiffening means may be employed that has the required lightness, stiffness and resiliency.

To render the outer dress still more independent of, and free from the wearer and to protect them from the effects of perspiration, the fabric of which the shield is formed may be rendered moisture proof by means of a suitable moisture proofing composition that will not impair or detract from the quality of the fabric.

As changes of construction could be made within the scope of my invention, it is desired that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative-and not in a limitin sense.

Having described the invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1s:

1. An article of the type described which comprises a piece of fabric of substantially apron form adapted to be worn dorsally, and stiffening material at the part of its area corresponding to the seat port'on of said fabric, said stiffening material being so arranged at said seat portion as to resist the bending of said seat portion on substantially vertical lines only.

2. An article of the t e described which comprises, a piece of fa ric of substantially apron form adapted to be worn dorsally and substantially horizontal strips of stifl'enln material at the part of its area correspon ing to the seat portion of said fabric.

3. An article of the type described wh ch comprises, a piece of fabric of substantially apron form adapted to be Worn dorsally having an 11 per portion of reticulated material and a ower portion of material, and

transverse strips of stiffening material at the part of its area corresponding to the seat portion of said lower portion.

4. An article of the type described which comprises, a piece of fabric of substantially apron form adapted to be worn dorsally having an upper portion of reticulated ma terial and a lower portion of opaque material and substantially horizontal strips of stiffening material at the part of its area correspondin to the seat portion of said opaque materlal.

5. An article of the type described which comprises, a piece of fabric of substantially apron form adapted to be worn dorsally having an upper portion of reticulated material and a lower ortion of opaque material and substantia ly horizontal strips of stifi'ening material at the part of its area correspondin to the seat portion of said opaque material, the length of said strips in creasingtoward the bottom.

6. An article of the t pe described which comprises, a piece of fabric of substantially apron form adapted to be worn dorsally, stiffening means at the part of its area corresponding to the seat ortion of said fabric, said stiffening means ing so arranged as to resist the bending of the said seat portion substantially horizontal strips of stiffening material at the part of its area corresponding to the seat portion of said fabric and an independent strip of stiffening means extending from beneath either end of said.

horizontal strips to the adjacent edge of the apron. p

8. An article of the type described which comprises, a piece of fabric of substantially apron form adapted to be worn dorsally having an upper portion of reticulated material and a lower portion of opaque material, substantially horizontal strips of stiffening material at the part of its area corresponding to the seat portion of said opaque material, and independent'strips of stiifening material extending from beneath either edge of said seat strips horizontally to the adjacent side edges.

In testimony whereof I afiix m ALMA MARIE L si nature. A SEN. 

